The opening of a safer drug consumption room in Glasgow, which will be a UK first, has been delayed.
The facility on Hunter Street in the city will provide addicts with a place to consume illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine under clinical supervision.
The pilot scheme is aimed as tackling Scotland's problem with drug deaths, with the nation seeing more per capita then anywhere else in Europe.
In 2023, 1,172 people died from drug misuse, a 12% increase on the previous years.
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In the quarterly statistics, the total number of suspected drug deaths between December 2023 and February 2024 was 278, averaging 23 per week.
Public Health Scotland said that combined substance abuse remained the key driver of harms, with the most likely mixes involving benziodazepines, cocaine and opioids.
The most common drug types detected in post-mortem toxicology were opioids (70%) and benzodiazepines (58%). The percentage of deaths where cocaine was detected remained stable at 36% but it continued to be the most commonly detected individual substance, followed by heroin/morphine (29%), methadone (29%), diazepam (27%), and bromazolam (22%).
Providing a facility for people to take those drugs is aimed at reducing fatal and non-fatal overdoses.
The Safer Drugs Consumption Facility was due to open on October 21, but has been pushed back for checks on the building to be carried out.
A council spokesperson said: “We are close to opening the UK’s first Safe Consumption Drug Facility and like any project of this scale, there are complexities which need to be worked out.
“Whilst we haven’t been able to meet our estimated opening date, all partners continue to work at pace to ensure that we get this service open as soon as possible.
“This will happen once the building passes the stringent NHS Assure process which has been put in place to ensure public safety.”
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